1,935 Shares in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) Acquired by Founders Financial Alliance LLC

Founders Financial Alliance LLC acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 56.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,597,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $743,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102,119 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $322,199,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 239.6% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,027,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430,637 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $121,113,000. Finally, Palestra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $81,865,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Up 0.3 %

Discover Financial Services stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $123.22. 1,003,834 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,195,989. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $30.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $79.04 and a 1-year high of $131.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.87.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($1.88). The business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Discover Financial Services in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up previously from $117.00) on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $127.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $105.00 to $133.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Discover Financial Services from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.29.

About Discover Financial Services

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; private student loans, personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.